Eighty-five percent of Scots think it would be useful if people who cannot find or afford a lawyer to represent them in court could have the help and support of a knowledgeable non-lawyer or friend in court (known as a McKenzie Friend), according to new figures from Which?.
The consumer group polled just over a thousand adults in research timed to coincide with the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill going through the Scottish Parliament. It reveals that around seven in ten Scots (71%) think that legal services should be regulated independently.
Around six in ten (59%) think it is important that lay people should make up the majority of a profession’s regulator or disciplinary board.
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